Jacobs Academy Ballet Program

Jacobs Academy Ballet Program

Our Mission

The Jacobs Academy Ballet Program provides training, education, and mentorship to dancers who want to study the art of ballet and include it in their lives. We serve all who dream to dance, including children and young adults who wish to train at the pre-professional level and those who seek to dance as a recreational extra-curricular experience. We share our devotion and commitment to the art and practice of dance, and we build supportive and joyful connections among our dancers, their families, our faculty, and the Jacobs School.

Core Values

We believe that ballet training can and should build confidence, creativity, intelligence, discipline, and a positive self-image in every student.

We commit to ensuring that all ballet training and performance activities take place in a positive learning environment in which every dancer feels welcome, supported, safe, nurtured, and inspired to seek the best in themselves.

We aspire to motivate and encourage dancers to feel the thrill of their own hard work, to move with grace, confidence, and fearlessness as they develop as artists, and to take pride in the shared accomplishment of their ballet community.

We recognize the essential importance of live musical accompaniment and robust, regular performance activities in enriching and enhancing the student experience onstage and in the ballet studio.

Learn more about the program:

Our program features outstanding instruction to bring the best in ballet to each student. Content is specifically tailored to meet the developmental needs of each level. In ballet technique classes, focus is placed on alignment, posture, coordination, and musicality, while creating a solid foundation with movements that require a healthy understanding of correct turnout. Through the traditional structure of barre and center work, the seemingly simple ability to extend, stretch, bend, and straighten the knees tranforms into jumps, turns, balances, and high extensions. In pre-pointe and pointe classes, we look at strengthening the articulation of the foot and ankle safely as dancers explore the new medium of expression the pointe shoe provides. In variations class, dancers explore repertoire that will challenge their artistry in level-appropriate ways as well as enhance their understanding of the beautiful artistry ballet can create. Contemporary class rounds out our program and allows dancers to fully explore their range of movement while preparing them to dance beyond their classical roots. Open classes are held on Saturday afternoons for those of you who have always wanted to join in the ballet fun! This class will challenge all levels, ages, and abilities while pushing your artistic expression in a fun and welcoming environment.

Merit-based financial aid is awarded each fall semester only for levels 1-6. If you would like to fill out an application for merit scholarship for our program, please click on this link for details. Please have your completed application submitted to balletpc@iu.edu no later than August 7, 2026.

Need-based financial aid is decided by a committee that is separate from the Jacobs Academy Ballet faculty, and the application deadline is August 17. If you are interested in applying for need-based aid, please contact the Office of Jacobs Academy at musicsp@iu.edu for more information. 

Our levels are preliminarily based at the discretion of the Program Director, however, level adjustments may be made according to their ability, skill and work ethic. Those invitations will be coordinated with families and always monitor what is best for the dancer’s health and well-being. Please assure your dancer that these are to establish a schedule that offers the resources needed to train in ballet at the highest level. If you have any questions, please reach out to balletpc@iu.edu.

We are happy to now offer an Open Class on Saturday for dancers ages 13-Adult. This class offers a point of flexibility for dancers interested in a lighter schedule of ballet while still incorporating learning and growth into their program.

All dancers and families joining us for our Jacobs Academy Pre-College Ballet Program may optionally mask while attending classes in our facilities. Adaptations to masking requirements will be communicated as needed and follow the university’s directives for health and safety. You will notice that we will be differentiating levels in our classes through the dress code and, in coordination with the ballet department of the Jacobs School of Music, we are making significant changes to the ballet attire as the art form moves towards a more inclusive future. Dancers have a choice of wearing either a leotard in the color of their designated level with flesh-toned or ballet pink tights, or thick black fitted tights with a fitted white t-shirt. Shoe color should match tights whenever possible. We recognize the economic implications of this shift in dress code, and we are happy to grant families the time it takes to make these changes. Please reach out to the ballet department at balletpc@iu.edu for guidance or questions.

Academy faculty

Robin Hoover Allen dancing with children

Robin Hoover Allen specializes in teaching creative movement classes for young children with a pre-ballet focus, and she also teaches elective courses in classical and contemporary ballet as  well as yoga, as a visiting lecturer with the ballet department. Allen is an alumna of IU with a Bachelor of Science in ballet and human biology and a Master of Science in ballet.

Rebecca Janes

Rebecca Janes has performed principal roles throughout her extensive career in notable ballets by leading choreographers such as George Balanchine, Alonzo King, Dwight Rhoden, Nacho Duato, Gerald Arpino, Marius Petipa, Sasha Janes and many others. Fully certified in Romana Pilates, she instructs privately from her home studio in Bloomington.

For more information, please contact balletpc@iu.edu.

2026 - 2027 Calendar

Fall 2026 Semester
DateEvent
Friday, August 7Registration Deadline for Bridge Classes
Monday, August 10 – Friday, August 28Bridge Classes, à la carte (Level 1 – 6)
Friday, August 21Deadline for Registration and Tuition Payment
Saturday, August 29Fall Semester Begins for All Levels
Friday, September 4 - Monday, September 7No Classes- Labor Day Weekend
Friday, October 2, Saturday, October 3IU Ballet Theater Fall Ballet- collegiate performance
Friday, October 9, Saturday, October 10IU Fall Break- no classes
Saturday, November 7 – Friday, November 13Primary, Level 1-6: Parent Observation Week
Saturday, November 14Creative Ballet and Pre-Ballet: Parent Observation and Fall Semester Ends
Saturday, November 14Pilates and Adult Ballet: Fall Semester Ends
Tuesday, November 17Primary Level: Fall Semester Ends
Saturday, November 21 – Sunday, November 29Thanksgiving Break - no classes
Monday, November 30 – Thursday, December 3Nutcracker Tech Week
Friday, December 4 – Sunday, December 6 & Friday, December 11, Saturday, December 12IU Ballet Theater Nutcracker
Saturday, December 12Fall Semester Ends (All Levels in Nutcracker)
Monday, December 14 – Friday, December 18Bridge Classes, a la carte (Level 1 – 6)

Winter Bridge Classes (Monday 12/14 – Friday 12/18)

Recommended for all students in Level 1 – 6. New students ages 8+ may take with the Level 1&2 group as an introduction to ballet.

Class Schedule:

Tuesday & Thursday 5:45-7pm - $15/class

Maximum 2 classes

Class Schedule: 

  • Tuesday & Thursday 5:45-7pm - $15/class

    Maximum 2 classes

Class Schedule:

  • Monday, Wednesday, Friday 5:45-7pm - $15/class

    Maximum 3 classes

Non-refundable Registration Fee

All levels are subject to a $50 non-refundable enrollment deposit due at registration that is credited towards tuition.

Registration & payment deadlines


Fall 2026 Deadlines:

  • Merit Scholarship Application - August 7
  • Need-based financial aid application - August 17
  • Registration and Payment Deadline - August 21

How to Apply

  1. New students ages 9 and up: Before registering, please contact the pre-college program director at balletpc@iu.edu for level placement.
  2. Registration: To apply, complete the online registration form. No auditions are required for enrollment. Late registrations may be accepted pending space availability.
  3. Merit and financial aid (available fall and spring semesters): For those individuals awaiting merit or financial aid decisions, please register and pay only the $50 registration fee. Once aid has been finalized, you will receive a code to reduce the remaining tuition amount and you can pay the remaining balance.

    • To Apply for Need-based Financial Aid

      • Need-based financial aid (available for fall and spring semesters)
        • Please complete the need-based financial aid form 
        • Contact musicsp@iu.edu to obtain the secure link to upload the required supporting documents
        • Applications will only be reviewed if you have registered and paid the non-refundable registration fee.
        • Fall 2026 deadline - August 17
  4. Payment: Accepting payment via credit card or check. For any questions regarding payment, please contact IU Conferences at iuconfs@iu.edu or call 1-800-933-9330. Please do not send checks or any forms of payment to the Office of Jacobs Academy.
  5. Cancellation Policy: Click here for our most up to date cancellation policy.

Register for Fall 2026

Once you have completed the previous steps, please submit the Jacobs Academy Participant Agreement Form